


A rose by any other form

by novastars



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Angst, Bittersweet Ending, F/M, Flowers, Light Angst, One Shot, Post-Episode: s02e13 Doomsday, Rose Tyler - Freeform, basically the doctor sees a rose for the first time after doomsday and gets EMOTIONAL
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-24
Updated: 2014-09-24
Packaged: 2018-02-18 14:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2352041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novastars/pseuds/novastars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Martha stroll through a flowershop when the Doctor sees something he had quite forgotten about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A rose by any other form

**Author's Note:**

> So I haven't really written much fanfic since my bieber stage (please do not judge me) so as always please be kind and your feedback is welcome! :) 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading.

The Doctor rarely allowed them time to shop, let alone shop for flowers.  
  
But the moment he had mentioned that this was the biggest flower shop in the galaxy, with flowers and plants ranging from every planet with a soil for such things to grow. Martha Jones had jabbed her finger into his scrawny chest and demanded entry. She was still rather smug that he let her win that argument.

The Doctor snorted at her facial expression upon their exit from the tardis.  
  
This flower shop was _huge._

Set in a donut shaped dome made entirely of plutonian glass, it shimmered like a beacon in this dreary planet’s atmosphere.  
  
“See them?”  
The Doctor said, nodding towards a couple of speckled pickle people clad in overalls “they’re the workers, weell I say workers, slaves really. They’re not paid in units they’re paid in petals. Mind you I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some of those flowers...”  
  
Martha drowned out the rest of his babbling, focusing instead on the absolute beauty that lay before them in this single corner of the shop. The scent of thousands of flowers washed over them, The Doctor leaned his head back and inhaled deeply, grinning down at her with crinkled eyes. He reached for her hand, fluttering his fingers playfully when she hesitated to take it. The last planet they had been on had outlawed hand holding, seeming to think it as a sexual act rather than platonic.  
  
That had not been fun. If she was going to get thrown in jail for sexual misconduct with the Doctor they at _least_ could have been doing something far more interesting.

  
 For once, they walked slowly down the aisles, heeding the _no running_ signs and admiring the fauna and flora that surrounded them. She ignored the most part of his constant stream of talking, nodding and _ahh_ ing at the appropriate times and trying not to focus too much on the firmness of his hand on hers.  
  
“This is brilliant Doctor”  
  
she breathed out, hands itching to touch the jeweled, yet oddly soft looking, sunflower in front of her.  
  
 “Yes it is quite isn't it, they've added in at _least_ a hundred different types since I was last here. At least”  
  
he pulled on his ear absentmindedly, eyes flickering around the room blankly, not seeing the flowers but instead seeing the past.

Her feet throbbed with a deep ache as they stepped down yet another new aisle of wonders. The Doctor had long since let go of her hand, subtly heading towards the _carnivorous flora and fauna_ area, glancing back as he did so as if to check that she had yet to notice.  
  
She noticed.  
  
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing mister”  
  
she snapped at him, dulling the sharp edge of her tone with a teasing grin.  
  
   “Just heading to the – you know to check the new – I – “  
  
her stomach dropped as his voice took on a falsetto tone, seemingly lost for an explanation as to why he would venture to the man eating plant section.  
  
“C’mon, no adventures for us today. Just plain ol’ boring flower shopping”  
  
She teased, laughing as he slumped back to her side like a disappointed 3 year old.  

She was quite unaware of the change in his mood when she slammed straight into his back. The Doctor had halted unceremoniously in the middle of the aisle, a blank yet fearful look blanketing his usually cheerful face.  
  
“Doctor? What is it? Has a man eating plant escaped?”  
  
She joked easily, yet her eyes automatically scanned the room, looking for the danger that so often followed the two.   
  
Her words fell on death ears, his head barely even twitching at the sound of her voice. She frowned , turning to see what had engulfed him so. Thinking that perhaps a paralysis or hypnotizing plant had gotten hold of him…  
  
What she found was so anticlimactic to the point she almost laughed.  
  
The Doctor was lost, staring at a wall covered head to toe in roses. Had he never seen a blue rose before? Or a flashing one with thorns that looked to be made of steel? She highly doubted it. Her eyes followed his Adams apple as he swallowed hard, his gaze flickering over the beautiful flowers as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

“Doctor what’s wrong? Are these roses special or something?”  
  
Her worry had begun to indent a crease in her brow, the Doctor was rarely so enamoured that he forgot all about her. Well, she hoped that it would be harder for him to overlook her.

Finally, her words shattered his walls and he glanced around at her, eyes befuddled as though he had been asleep.  
  
  “Wha - ? Oh not to worry Martha, nothing really special about these…flowers”  
  
He rubbed the back of his neck, pausing for a second long enough to cause her to worry more. Yet  thankfully he turned back in time before she had reason to call the pickle overall workers, and stretched his cheeks so wide it looked more like a grimace than his usual grin.  
  
Martha, so relieved that her Doctor had returned, didn't seem to catch the fact that the Doctor had pocketed one of the flowers that had dazed him so.  


* * *

  
  
The day had been long, her arms stretched with the ache of carrying so many flowers (she was sure some of these would at least make her mother think twice before forcing her to stay away from the Doctor) With a smile she realized that her skin was still stained from the perfume of that damnably beautiful shop, she oddly wondered if it would ever wash off.

The Doctor was last to come into the tardis, laughing at a joke one of the pickle people said before slamming the door shut.  
  
“ _That_ would have to be the worst joke I've ever heard. Good thing they won’t quit their day job I suppose”  
  
he muttered under his breath, smiling slightly at the sight of Martha holding a box of flowers near bigger than her.  
  
“Alright then, where do I put these?”  
  
her voice was beginning to strain; some of these flowers were beginning to become rather heavy.  
  
 “Oh just put them near the console, I’ll carry them to the green house after…”  
  
his voice trailed off quietly, seeming to barely notice Martha as she dropped the box down near his feet.  
  
She watched with apprehension as he pulled a single pink rose out of his pocket, even she could no longer explain the daunting feeling that pitted deep in her stomach as the Doctor twirled it slowly in his fingers.  
  
Finally building up the courage to ask the question that burned bright and hot in her throat, she should feel silly to ask about a stupid flower yet uneasiness still buzzed throughout her being.  
  
“Doctor – what’s so special about that rose?”  


But her question was left unanswered as the Doctor had already left the room.


End file.
